[lg policy] Conference: Reversing Language Shift: How to Reawaken a Language (UK, Sep 2010)

Fri Apr 23 16:54:09 UTC 2010

With apologies for cross-postings.

Damien

FEL XIV (the 14th Foundation for Endangered Languages conference), in 
Carmarthen, Wales, UK, 13-15 September 2010:

http://linguistlist.org/issues/21/21-1931.html

Full Title: Reversing Language Shift: How to Reawaken a Language 
Short Title: FEL XIV 

Date: 13-Sep-2010 - 15-Sep-2010 
Location: Carmarthen, Wales, United Kingdom 
Contact Person: Hywel Lewis 
Meeting Email: h.lewistrinity-cm.ac.uk 
Web Site: http://www.ogmios.org/conferences/2010/index.htm 

Linguistic Field(s): Applied Linguistics; Language Acquisition; Language 
Documentation; Sociolinguistics 

Call Deadline: 30-Apr-2010 

Meeting Description: 

Language revitalisation requires the collaboration of a wide range of 
expertise. Institutional, political, and local support all play crucial 
roles, along with educationists and language planners. But how can these, 
working together, have practical effects in the daily language usage of 
ordinary people, and how can they achieve the goal of slowing down language 
erosion and revitalising language tradition? Abstracts are invited on all 
topics in language revitalisation and reversing language shift.

A language-relevant excursion is planned for the afternoon of 15 September 
as well as cultural entertainment during the evenings of 13 and 14 
September. Carmarthen's nearest airport is Cardiff, 110 Km away. If direct 
flights to Cardiff are unavailable, try Bristol (175 Km from Carmarthen) 
before any of the London airports.

The Carmarthen (Caerfyrddin - 'Castle Merlin') campus of University of 
Wales: Trinity Saint David is situated on the edge of a market town with a 
population of 13,500, most of them fluent Welsh-speakers. The town claims 
to be the oldest in Wales, with a mediaeval castle and a Roman 
amphitheatre. Carmarthen's name under Roman rule was Moridunum 
Demetarum ('Sea Fort of Dyfed', in British). 

Trinity University College, Carmarthen and Saint David's University 
College, Lampeter, are merging, a process to be completed by September 
2010. Trinity University College is famous in Wales for promotion of 
bilingualism and bilingual teaching, recognised by the Welsh Assembly 
Government as a key provider of Welsh-medium higher education.

Call for Papers 

Reversing Language Shift: How to Re-awaken a Language Tradition 

University of Wales: Trinity Saint David, Carmarthen, Wales 
13-15 September, 2010 

Language revitalisation is now receiving greater attention from academics, 
language planners, politicians, institutions and organisations worldwide. A 
step further than documentation, language revitalisation, supported by 
active policy, offers the possibility of reversing a shift that threatens 
over half of the world's languages.

Many take language vitality to be symbolic of national and cultural 
identity. In the Celtic regions, in particular, governments are taking a 
leading role in the struggle to reverse language shift by various efforts 
including attempts to increase the number of speakers of the respective 
languages.

Wales provides a good vantage point from which to consider prospects for 
reversing language shift. It has experience in gauging levels of political 
support at local, national and international levels. Census figures show an 
increase in the number of users of Welsh, especially amongst the younger 
generation, which can be attributed, like the language revival in Estonia, 
to the education system. However, some academics doubt whether such 
increases in speaker numbers lead to increased language fluency and use. 
While efforts to achieve the Welsh Assembly's goal of a "bilingual Wales" 
have led to demands for greater legislative powers and autonomy on 
linguistic issues, the constant net immigration into the traditional 
heartlands is steadily reducing the density of Welsh-speakers there.

Language revitalisation requires the collaboration of a wide range of 
expertise. Institutional, political, and local support all play crucial 
roles, along with educationists and language planners. But how can these, 
working together, have practical effects in the daily language usage of 
ordinary people, and how can they achieve the goal of slowing down language 
erosion and revitalising language tradition?

Abstracts are invited on all topics in language revitalisation and 
reversing language shift, such as the following: -The roles and influences 
of formal educational systems -The roles of political independence, 
campaigns for linguistic rights, and community attitudes -The role of 
different domains of language use: is there a 'best practice' in ordering 
their importance in language policy? -The roles of corpus planning, 
documentary linguistics, and technologies, especially the internet -Can 
there be a corpus standard without oppressive purism? If so, how else can a 
corpus standard be propagated? -Language change in/through revitalisation 
-Special problems in a multi-lingual and multi-cultural context -Whether 
strategies for reversing language shift in places like Wales can be applied 
where there are many minority languages -How to integrate monolingual 
immigrants into bilingual society

Other relevant issues might include these questions: -Is political 
independence crucial for ethnolinguistic vitality? -Are there useful links 
between the problem of reversing language shift where there is only a 
single minority language, and the problem where there is a host of small 
languages? -What role is there for technology in reversing language shift? 
-Are the benefits of bilingualism, cognitive and otherwise, still 
contested? -Is there an inescapable trend towards larger language units, 
and fewer languages? -If, as has been said, a shrinking language minority 
always lacks the will to stop shrinking, must attempts to save such a 
community focus on their will to save themselves?

Papers may focus on any endangered language situation in the world. The 
language of papers is English or Welsh. The content of all papers will be 
made accessible to those who lack Welsh. 

Each presentation at the Conference will last twenty minutes, with a 
further ten minutes for discussion and questions and answers. Keynote 
lectures (by invitation only) will last forty-five minutes each.

Abstract submission: 
An abstract of up to 500 words should be submitted before 30 April, 2010. 
Abstracts received after this deadline will not be accepted. 

The following information should also be provided on a separate page: 
NAME(S): Names of the author(s) 
TITLE: Title of the paper 
INSTITUTION: Institutional affiliation, if any 
E-MAIL: E-mail address of first author, if any 
ADDRESS: Postal address of the first author 
TEL: Telephone number of the first author, if any 
FAX: Fax number of the first author, if any. 

Submit abstracts either by email or post: 

1. E-mail 
Please send your abstract (with the other necessary details) via e-mail to 
both of the following addresses: 
h.lewistrinity-cm.ac.uk 
nostlerchibcha.demon.co.uk 
with the subject of the e-mail stating: 
"FEL Abstract: (last name of the author(s)): (title of paper)" 

2. Post 
If you cannot submit by e-mail, please send your abstract and details on 
paper to the following address (to arrive by 30 April 2010): 
FEL XIV Conference Administration 
Foundation for Endangered Languages 
172 Bailbrook Lane 
Bath BA1 7AA 
United Kingdom 

The name of the first author will be used in all correspondence. Writers 
will be informed once their abstracts have been accepted and will be 
required to submit their full papers for publication in the Proceedings by 
August 1st, 2010, together with their registration fee (to be announced 
soon).

Important Dates -Abstract arrival deadline: April 30, 2010 -Notification of 
acceptance of paper: May 31, 2010 -In case of acceptance, the full paper 
will be due by August 1st, 2010 It is a condition of speaking at the 
conference that authors will submit a hard copy of their paper by this 
deadline. (Further details on the format of text will be specified to the 
authors.) -Conference dates: September 13-15, 2010

Conference Chair: 
Dr Hywel Glyn Lewis 
Ysgol y Gymraeg ac Astudiaethau Dwyieithrwydd 
Prifysgol Cymru: Y Drindod Dewi Sant, Caerfyrddin, Cymru 
or 
School of Welsh and Bilingualism Studies 
University of Wales: Trinity Saint David 
Carmarthen SA31 3EP 
Wales, UK 
Tel. +44 (0)1267-676680 
e-mail: h.lewistrinity-cm.ac.uk 

The Foundation for Endangered Languages is a non-profit membership 
organisation, registered as Charity 1070616 in England and Wales, founded 
in 1996. Its objective is to support, enable and assist the documentation, 
protection and promotion of endangered languages all over the world. The 
Foundation awards small grants for projects. It also publishes a 
newsletter, OGMIOS. It has hosted a conference every years since 1996, most 
recently in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain (2004), Stellenbosch, South Africa 
(2005), Mysore, India (2006), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, (2007), 
Ljouwert/Leeuwarden, Netherlands (2008) and Khorugh/Khorog, Tajikistan 
(2009). The FEL conferences bring together experts, scholars and 
enthusiasts from all over the world. The Proceedings of FEL conferences are 
available as published volumes. For further information visit: 
www.ogmios.org

-- 
Damien Hall

University of York
Department of Language and Linguistic Science
Heslington
YORK
YO10 5DD
UK

Tel. (office) +44 (0)1904 432665
     (mobile) +44 (0)771 853 5634
Fax  +44 (0)1904 432673

http://www.york.ac.uk/res/aiseb

http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/lang/people/pages/hall.htm

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